


accidents of faith and nature

by weathering



Series: you fell in love with icarus [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Female Mage Lavellan - Freeform, Narnia AU, ariadne lavellan, badass lavellan, there are no talking lions, well at least the rutherford siblings end up in a magical land via a wardrobe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 15:39:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14718875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weathering/pseuds/weathering
Summary: "She’s dangerous," Mia tells him quietly as they’re bent over the war table in her tent the night before their most ambitious charge yet."I know," Cullen says dismissively, not looking up from their plans.





	accidents of faith and nature

Cullen is sixteen when she arrives along with the rest of the Dalish delegation. He’s standing off to the side of Mia’s throne, armour still a little too big and a little too heavy. It’s been at least two hours since the ceremony started by the time the Keeper introduces the red headed twins as Ariadne and Attis of clan Lavellan, and he’s shifting from one foot to the other in discomfort. They bow, and Ariadne glances at him when she straightens, smirking when she notices him shift, and Cullen stops moving to scowl at her. He’s royalty, who is she to mock him? He doesn’t see any weapons at her sides, just a staff strapped to her back, her armour light. He all but rolls his eyes when the Keeper claims that she’s a warrior, one of the best they have. It hadn’t taken him long to learn that mages and warriors are very different things, and that this woman is definitely the former.

He challenges her later that week, because Cullen is young and cocky and feels like he has something to prove. When he announces his intentions to Mia, she raises an eyebrow at him, asks him if he’s sure that that’s a good idea. Cullen scoffs, storms off to the sparring arena anyways. What does Mia know, anyways? 

It turns out Mia knows a lot. Ari has him on his back with a glowing sword she’d pulled out of thin air at his neck within moments, leaving him with a bruised ego and a cut on his cheek. 

_Looks like you need a few more years of training,_ she says, holding out a hand to help him up. His face flushes red, and he stutters out an excuse before fleeing.

It only bruises his pride further when Mia laughs at him and appoints Ari as the head of her private guard.

 

* * *

 

Cullen throws himself into training for three years before he builds up the confidence to ask Ari to spar again. He doesn’t win that first time, but holds his ground for several minutes and gets a few hits in before she disarms him. Cullen can see that she’s pleased with his improvement, and when she asks to train with him regularly he accepts.

He doesn’t end up on his back nearly as often or as quickly as before, and sometimes, if it’s a good day, he’ll even win. It takes another two years before Cullen feels they’re equally matched. In that time they go from a casual rivalry to coworkers, and then suddenly they’re friends. When his eyes start to linger on her longer than they should, on the curve of her throat and the scars on her shoulders, he accepts his crush on her and tries to move on. It’s when he notices that he spends too much time missing her when she’s gone that he accepts that it’d be ludicrous to still call his feelings friendly.

It takes Cullen months of pining after Ari and teasing from his siblings before he gathers up the courage to do something about it. When he finally does admit his feelings to her, it’s with red cheeks but a straight spine. His voice only wavers a little bit, and when he’s finished he meets her eyes. It was just an admission, no clever lines. Cullen tries not to look too hopeful, but he has a hard time keeping his hope contained when he catches Ari’s ears flick upwards slightly. He’s been her friend long enough to know that it’s a sure sign that she’s pleased.

_Took you long enough,_ Ari tells him, pulling forward by the collar of his armor so she can kiss him, sharp and bright and possessive. _We have time for clever lines later._

 

* * *

 

They do not discuss their childhoods. Cullen knows there’s rumours about where he and his siblings came from, some closer to the truth than others. He does wonder sometimes, if Ari would believe him if he told her that they fell out of a wardrobe and into this world. 

He doesn’t tell her. He takes comfort in the fact that Ari has her own secrets, that she and her brother spend as much time whispering in the corner of libraries as he and Mia do. It makes him feel more comfortable with the secrets that he’s holding.

They tell each other the important things, Cullen reassures himself as he trails his fingers down Ari’s spine as she sleeps. The future is what matters.

 

* * *

 

_She’s dangerous,_ Mia tells him quietly as they’re bent over the war table in her tent the night before their most ambitious charge yet.

_I know,_ Cullen says dismissively, not looking up from their plans.

He’s seen the reports that come through, seen the list of the dead listed on the last page. It’s not uncommon for Ari to crawl into his bed a few hours before sunrise with untreated cuts and blood drying under her fingernails. Cullen knows she’s not smooth edged, and he’s long since stopped worrying about how little it bothers him.

He feels Mia staring at him, and when he looks up she just sighs, dismissing him with a wave of a hand. _Go get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day._

Cullen nods, returns to his tent to find Ari already there, chewing on her lip as she reads a report by lamplight. He stops just inside the doorway so he can take a moment to stare at her. Her hair is a red tangled mess, loose of her usual braids, sitting cross legged on in the bed in one of his old shirts. It’s slipping off one shoulder, enough so he can see scars that arc across them.

Ari glances up at him after a moment, smiling briefly before turning her attention back to her report. Cullen takes off his armour piece by piece, laying it out for the morning before slipping onto the bed behind her. 

It starts innocently enough, a simple press of his lips against the scars on her shoulder. But it escalates quickly, and soon he’s on his knees between Ari’s thighs, her heels digging sharply into his back and her fingers tugging on his hair, egging him on with soft gasps. She’ll be going into battle with beard burn along her inner thighs. He’ll go in with scratches down the back of his neck that will burn as soon as he starts to sweat. The way Ari shakes apart around him with his name on her lips is worth any future discomfort.

_She is dangerous,_ he thinks, as Ari drags him up off his knees so she can kiss him, laughing when he keeps pausing to nip at the scars he finds on the way up. She’s still smiling when he kisses her, holding her close with sword callused hands. _But we’re at war. We have to be._

 

* * *

 

They stand on the hill together, watching from on high as the darkspawn horde stumbles under the volley the archers are letting loose. Ari is standing perfectly still on the other side of Mia, her hair back into tight braids, armour gleaming in the sun. To most she looks perfectly calm, but Cullen can see her eagerness in the brightness of her eyes and the way her fingers are wrapped tightly around her staff. Her companions are spread out across the field, only a few standing motionless at her side. His own knights are restless, shifting around behind him, awaiting his signal. This is their biggest fight yet, and Cullen can only hope that they all make it out alive.

The darkspawn have let loose a troll, large enough that it’s made it past the archers firing line and is pushing forward through their soldiers with ease. Mia knocks an arrow, holding it out to Ari who lights it with a flick of her fingers. Mia fires it high into the sky, where it flares brightly before shattering. Cullen tightens his grip on his sword. It’s their signal, and their army rushes forwards.

Ari slams her staff into the ground with a shout, and massive ice spikes come bursting out of the ground under the trolls feet, knocking it off balance long enough for her companions to down it completely. Cullen and his knights are quick to follow, eager to take advantage of the distraction. It’s not long before they’re in the thick of the battle, cutting down one darkspawn after another. He catches momentary glimpses of Ari, face twisted into a snarl as she lashes out with her sword, the magic blade slicing through the enemies like they were made of water. 

They stick close to one another, watching each others backs when they can. Cullen rams his shield into his opponents face, pushing him backwards onto Ari’s waiting sword, and barely has time to block the next blow that’s aimed at him. He blocks and counters successfully, but when he looks up it’s to the sight of a fresh wave heading straight for them. They’re slowly getting overwhelmed, he realises, and before he has a chance to call for backup he’s pulled out of the way by one of Ari’s companions. It leaves Ari standing in the direct path of the oncoming charge, but she doesn’t appear to notice, rolling her shoulders back and widening her stance. He shouts at the companion who is dragging him backwards, struggling against his hold, but he’s twice Cullen’s size and he can’t break out of his hold.

_Don’t worry about the boss,_ he says, but Cullen can barely hear him over the sound of his heart thundering in his ears. _She’s got this._

He watches in horror as Ari is overwhelmed by a swarm of darkspawn. Cullen’s heart gets caught in his throat, fear and adrenaline kicking in as he struggles to escape the iron grip that’s holding him back. Before he has a chance to try to fling himself into the fray with her, he’s forced to the ground by the collar, and Ari’s companion flings a shield up above their heads, blocking his view. There’s a thunderous crash that he can feel vibrating through his bones, and from under the edge of the shield he sees a blindingly bright light. A limb bounces off the shield and a helmet lands on his foot, and when the shield is lowered Cullen sees Ari standing in the middle of a circle of downed darkspawn. She slowly stands, blue sparks running up and down her body in waves, her eyes glowing a bright white.

Absently, he realises that this is likely what Mia meant when she said Ari was dangerous. 

There’s a fresh wave of darkspawn headed her way, and Cullen thinks he sees her grin. Ari’s blade materialises in her hand before she storms forwards, electricity arcing from her arms, electrocuting any enemy that gets close enough. She seems to pull lightning straight out of the sky to target those further away, but for closer targets she lets the electricity run down her blade and into the cracks in their armour. She’s merciless; each darkspawn makes a sickening sound when her sword is pulled from their bodies, slumping to the ground like puppets with their strings cut. Ari’s companions jump back into the fray with a shout, and Cullen doesn’t have time to process what he’s seeing before he throws himself in after them.

When the fight is over, hours or days later, Cullen pulls off his helmet and looks at the decimation around them. Ari is standing a few feet away, lightning still rippling across her body, sword in one hand. The light is bright enough that it almost hurts to look at her, but it doesn’t stop him from moving towards her. Her glowing eyes meet his, and she lets her blade vanish back out of existence. Ari smiles at him widely, white teeth in stark contrast to the dirt and the blood covering her face.

_Dangerous wasn’t the right word,_ he thinks as he strides towards her. _Dangerous doesn’t even begin to cover it_. 

It doesn’t matter how dangerous she is; he loves her, in all of her blinding and terrible glory. 

Ari is still shedding sparks when Cullen kisses her, bouncing off his armor and burning any exposed skin. She laughs against his mouth, and the slowly electricity dissipates into the earth at their feet. The battle high wears off quickly, but the taste of lightning and blood lingers on his tongue for hours.

**Author's Note:**

> The prequel to what was meant to be a very short AU and has grown into something of reasonable length. For a few graphics and more talk of AU's that I never meant to get this far away from me, come find me on tumblr at onesparrow.tumblr.com


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